The European Union deployed Election Observation Missions (EOMs) to Sierra Leone in 2007, 2012 and 2018. This Election Follow-up Mission (EFM) was be the first to be deployed by the EU to Sierra Leone. The 2018 EU EOM put forward 29 recommendations to strengthen future electoral processes in the country.
Out of the 29 proposed recommendations, 21 require a change of the legal framework in order to be implemented.
The main objectives of this mission included:

• Assess the state of play of the implementation of the recommendations of the 2018 EU EOM to Sierra Leone;
• Assess any electoral reforms adopted since the last EOM or which are under consideration (e.g.draft legislation) or planned and the degree to which these reflect EOM recommendations and their alignment with international standards for democratic elections;
• Identify which EOM recommendations are most relevant to the prevailing country situation and the current phase of the electoral cycle;
• Generate additional impetus for – or contribute to ongoing debates on – electoral reform;
• Identify areas of agreement and disagreement on EU EOM recommendations among the stakeholders and any political, technical, financial obstacles to electoral reform;
• Propose actions to overcome obstacles to electoral reform, including measures to develop support for and national ownership of the recommendations;
• If helpful and requested, assist the EU Delegation, EEAS and INTPA in their assessment on whether ongoing cooperation and conflict prevention projects are addressing the recommendations made by EU EOMs. Based on a brief overview of existing programmes, provide needed information to support identification of potential additional election/democracy support action that could contribute to strengthening the implementation of the recommendations and/or to the overall improvement of the electoral framework;
• Contribute to analysis by the EU Delegation, EEAS and INTPA with information to originate any other possible EU actions that could contribute to strengthening the implementation of the recommendations and/or to the overall improvement of the electoral framework;
• Prepare/update with EU Delegation a follow-up plan to EU EOM recommendations.

In order to achieve this objective, the EFM met relevant election stakeholders, including the national authorities, the election authorities, political actors, civil society, representatives of the international community and the media.